Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Juli Wood Quartet: Synkka Metsa (Dark Forest)

4

Juli Wood Quartet: Synkka Metsa (Dark Forest)

By

Sign in to view read count
Juli Wood Quartet: Synkka Metsa (Dark Forest)
When the subject of Finnish jazz is mentioned, the names Iro Haarla (piano), Vernie Pohjola (trumpet), Juhani Aaltonenen (saxophone) and Heikki Sarmanto could get tossed about as four from Finland who are producing superb recordings on TUM Records. The "Finnish sound" tends toward a reflective and often melancholy minor key mode, with smoldering freedom that at times flashes into roaring flame.

Chicago's Juli Wood—who plays multiple reeds, but sticks to the tenor saxophone here—explores her Finnish heritage on Synkka Metsa, a collection of Finnish folk songs. Inspired by trumpeter Art Farmer's Scandinavian foray, To Sweden with Love (Atlantic Records, 1964), that featured quartet with Jim Hall on guitar, Wood employes her own quartet here, with bassist Clark Sommers sitting in on bass, Alejandro Urzagaste on guitar and Mike Schlick on drums. Wood and her cohorts explore—with a cool restraint and crystalline clarity—the dark forest (the English translation of "Synkka Metsa") of Finnish Folk themes. The music evokes a shadowy world of deep greens and cold, moist earth, a place of thick and resilient mosses and icy water dripping from high branches denuded of leaves with the coming of the long winter.

Wood's quartet is superb, worthy of a very cool battle of the bands with Art Farmer's To Sweden With Love group. Urgaste's guitar—stretched-out lines switching to sharp single notes and resonant metallic chords—adds an elasticity to the sound. Mike Schlick's distinctive drum work shifts from rhythmic subtlety to hissing, wind-in-the-boughs cymbal drones. Bassist Sommers bass thrums under the low branches with with perfect foundation. And Juli Wood: she draws a tone from her tenor that is woody and folkloric, fronting a collective sound that is mysterious and often spooky on the down tempos, passionate and powerful on the faster tunes.

An outstanding set with a compellingly beautiful cohesion.

Track Listing

Lapin Aidin Kehto Laulu (Lapland Mother's Cradle Song); Taivas on Sininen ja Valkoinen (The Sky is Blue and White); Karjalen Kunnaila (Hills of Karelia); Valiakainen (Temporary); Ken Voi Tyynessa Seilata (Who Can Sail the Calm?); Toul on Mun Kultani (There is My Sweetheart); Tuohinen Sormus (Birchbark Ring); Villiruusu (Wild Rose).

Personnel

Juli Wood
saxophone

Juli Wood: tenor saxophone; Alejandro Urzagaste: guitar; Clark Sommers: bass; Mike Schlick: drums.

Album information

Title: Synkka Metsa (Dark Forest) | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: OA2 Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.